Q During the Second World War, why was Sweden not invaded like Denmark and Norway?
Gary Higginbottom, by email AThough all three
Scandinavian nations declared neutrality at the start of the Second World War, only Sweden was able to escape German occupation, while Norway and Denmark were invaded and occupied. The reasons for this difference are essentially economic and strategic. Firstly, economics: Sweden was Germany’s most important supplier of iron ore, which was crucial for Hitler’s armaments industry, and while that supply was maintained then Swedish neutrality could be respected by Berlin. After all, a military occupation cost money, men and materiel, and was therefore best avoided if it wasn’t strictly necessary.
The fate of Norway and Denmark, meanwhile, was decided more by strategic and logistical concerns. The German invasion of Norway in April 1940 was carried out to head off a planned AngloFrench occupation of that country, which aimed to deny Germany the strategically vital Norwegian coast and disrupt that crucial supply of Swedish iron ore. The occupation of Denmark was more logistical in origin. Though it certainly benefited Germany to control the Skagerrak and Kattegat straits and thereby the western access to the Baltic Sea, the primary rationale behind the invasion was simply that control of Denmark made the invasion and occupation of Norway easier to carry out.